


should’ve known all along (baby, it was always you)

by hockeyyybabyyy



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Christmas Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Magical Realism, magical mistletoe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 21:27:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17149379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hockeyyybabyyy/pseuds/hockeyyybabyyy
Summary: Ryan would follow Dylan to the ends of the earth just to make him happy. (Or in this case, to an old shop on the outskirts of Ottawa). He should’ve known that meant they had more than just brotherly love.





	should’ve known all along (baby, it was always you)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Stromesquad](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stromesquad/gifts).



> this story went a completely different direction than intended, and it’s way fluffier than i thought possible, but here we are. we made it folks! 
> 
> thank you to the mod for organizing this entire awesome exchange (which is impressive as fuck!!) and shoutout to ria for giving me some tidbits of info and for being my guide into the world of strome.
> 
> this work is unbeta’d so any and all mistakes are all my own. 
> 
> merry christmas ali! i hope you enjoy this 3.2k story about these dumb brothers that are in love and oblivious as hell (not in that order).

The night before Dylan’s 14th birthday he’s rambling about what his soulmate’s name might be. He’s talking about what names would sound good with the last name Strome, using his hands as he talks, expressive as always. Matty is enthralled, staring at Dylan as if he’s putting on a play, so captured by his every movement. Their parents are watching Dylan with small smiles, a little something like hurt hidden behind their eyes, not enough of it showing for Dylan to be able to notice it. But Ryan notices. And his heart aches for his little brother, full of so much hope about true love and soulmates, and how crushed he’ll be when he wakes up in the morning. 

The next morning when Ryan gets up to shower, he walks past Dylan’s room and can hear his mom’s hushed whispers. 

“Dylan, sweetheart, it’s gonna be alright, I promise,” Ryan hears her whisper as he listens through the door. 

“ But Mom,” Dylan replies, barely audible through his sniffles. “Does this mean that nobody is going to love me? That I’ll never have a soulmate?” Ryan’s heart drops out of his chest, and he has to back away from the door as he feels the tears welling up in his eyes.

/

“Ry?” A small voice asks from the other side of his bedroom door. 

“C’mon in, Pickle,” Ryan sits up from where he was lying on his bed, smiling as Dylan comes into the room. “Happy Birthday Dyl.” Dylan smiles and his eyes start to water, cheeks going pink. 

“Ry, do you have one?” Dylan asks, eyes wide. Ryan raises a questioning eyebrow at him and Dylan shifts on the bed, eyes darting away. “Your, uh, your name. I mean, your soulmate’s name. What is it?” Ryan’s hand goes down to the little cuff around his left wrist that hides blank skin. 

“Why do you ask?” Ryan replies, heart in his throat. 

“I, uh. Idon’thaveoneandIwantedtoknowifyouhadone.” Dylan mumbles under his breath, still not meeting Ryan’s eyes. He knocks into Dylan’s arm, making him look up. What Ryan sees breaks his heart. Dylan’s face is tear-stained, his bottom lip pulled tight between his teeth, eyebrows knit tightly together. Ryan does the only thing he can think of, the only thing that might make Dylan feel not so alone. He pulls off his cuff, showing the bare skin of his wrist. 

“It’s okay, Dyls. Look, I don’t have one either, see? It’s not just you, don’t worry about it.” Ryan fights back the tears as Dylan sniffs and nods his head, a silent agreement that although he might not understand why he doesn’t have a soul mark, he does understand that he’s not alone. Ryan pulls him into a big hug. 

/

Ryan’s sitting at his desk, working on another assignment that he procrastinated until the last minute when he hears a commotion in the kitchen. As he comes down the stairs, he hears the sound of his mom shushing someone. He rounds the corner and finds Dylan sitting at the dining room table, head in his hands. 

“Hey Pickle, what’s the matter?” Ryan asks as he takes a seat. 

“Ry, it’s my sixteenth birthday tomorrow,” Dylan huffs. He seems rather frayed around the edges.

“Birthdays are a good thing, no? Parties, presents, cake, the whole nine yards.” Ryan tries to sound cheerful as he says it, but he can feel the apprehension creeping into his voice. 

“Yeah and I’m supposed to get my clue tomorrow. But, what if-“ Dylan cuts himself off. 

“What if what, Dyls?”

“What if, because I have no name, I don’t get a clue? What if I actually have no soulmate? What if I’m going to be alone forever and have to buy a bunch of cats? I tried to ask Mom some questions but every time I ask she doesn’t give me a straight answer, or else she changes the subject.” Dylan’s picking nervously at a hangnail on his thumb, eyes darting around like he can’t decide if he really wants to look at Ryan or not. 

“Okay Pickle, I’ll tell you a secret, but you can’t tell anyone, not even Matty. Got it?” Ryan holds out his finger for a pinky promise, a silly thing the two of them have done since they were little kids. Dylan stares at Ryan for a beat and then sticks out his pinky and smiles, tongue between his teeth. 

“So,” Ryan beings as Dylan folds his hands in front of him, almost like he’s saying he’s ready for story time with his big brother. “A long time ago, our relatives all had soul marks and soul mates, the usual. But our great grandpa was, uh, the rotten egg of the family, I guess. He would borrow money from people and never pay them back, make friends only for convenience, and he hated hockey.” 

Dylan gasps, shock written all over his face. “A Strome that hates hockey? I don’t believe you. Isn’t it like, I don't know, our requirement as a Canadian citizen to like hockey?”

Ryan laughs, “You would think. Like I said, he was the rotten egg, the outcast if you will.” Ryan thinks about a life without hockey, without his teammates and the sound of skate blades on ice. He loves the feeling of his stick hitting a puck on a good slap shot, the rush of adrenaline you get on a breakaway. Yeah, no hockey is definitely not feasible for him. 

“Our great grandpa was friends with a man who loved hockey, the same way we do. One year, the two of them bet on a hockey game, each them putting $250 on the team they thought would win. Great grandpa may not have been a fan of hockey, but he loved to gamble, so he bet on his hometown team, the Toronto St. Patricks. His friend ultimately ended up winning the bet, but grandpa refused to pay, saying that it wasn’t a real wager because nothing was written in stone. His friend at the time was part of a long line of warlock’s that possessed a dark kind of magic, one that is rarely heard of these days. The warlock was enraged when he didn’t get paid and cursed our great grandpa and the next 10 generations of his family. The curse took away our ability to develop our soulmates names on our arms. The names only reveal themselves when you kiss your soulmate.” Ryan hesitates for a moment after saying that, unsure of whether or not he should tell Dylan about the alternative ways to discover your soulmate’s name. 

“So I guess I’ll never really know my soulmate’s name until we’re kissing at our own wedding, huh?” Dylan says with an exasperated sigh. Ryan’s heart clenches.

“Well, there are a few magical objects that have been rumoured to help our family members discover their soulmates. There’s tons of books about this stuff at the library,” Ryan says. Dylan lights up at that, a sense of excitement written all over his face. Ryan bites his tongue, deciding against telling Dylan about how he too had that feeling of hope when he first found out about the books. How he spent hours hunched over piles of books in a corner of the library, trying so hard to change what can’t be undone. 

/

Nothing happens with the books in the library. Dylan gets his hopes up and they come crashing down, same as they did for Ryan. 

On Matty’s 14th birthday, the two of them sit together and watch him go through the same heartbreaking realization.

/ 

Ryan’s got a girlfriend now. Her name is Sydney and she’s super sweet with a contagious laugh that lights up her entire face. But Ryan still doesn’t have a name, and neither does Dylan. 

/

“Ry! Look what I found!!” Dylan shouts as he comes running down the stairs, taking them two at a time. He trips on the last step and Ryan chuckles. 

“Hey Dyls, what’s up?” Ryan asks as he pauses the show he was watching. Dylan’s holding his phone tight, knuckles going white. Whatever he found, it seems to be kicking his energy level into overdrive. 

“Okay, remember when I turned 16 and you told me that story about our great grandpa and why we don’t have names?” Ryan nods. “And remember how you told me about the books?” Ryan nods again. “Well I found some stuff online about magical objects that help with revealing names!”

Ryan’s a little surprised, it’s been a while since Dylan’s spent significant time focusing on his name, or rather lack thereof. “You’re still stuck on this whole name thing, huh?”

Dylan laughs. “One of my friend’s started talking about it the other day, and I got to thinking about all those magical items I never got to try and use.”

Ryan thinks about it. On one hand, knowing would be good. But on the other, it might be more trouble than it’s worth, and people would get hurt. Especially Sydney.

“One of the items I found,” Dylan continues, snapping Ryan’s attention back to him. “Is called Magical Mistletoe. If soulmates stand beneath it the mistletoe will grow, and if they kiss it will reveal their missing names.” 

“I, what?!” Dylan’s really going to do this, huh? Ryan’s stupid brother whose heart is ten times bigger than it needs to be. Sometimes, even though he does it with good intentions, Dylan’s heart will lead him astray. Ryan thinks this might be one of those times. 

“Don’t be skeptical Ry, it’s legit. There’s a shop in Ottawa that sells it. You wanna go on a little road trip?” Dylan asks, but he’s smirking because he knows Ryan can never say no to him. 

Ryan sighs. “Yeah okay, Dyls. We’ll leave in 20?” Dylan nods and heads back upstairs. Ryan would follow Dylan to the ends of the earth just to make him happy. And looks like he’s about to do just that, because apparently he’s going to Ottawa. 

/

The road trip is fairly silent, just their music and the hum of the engine as background noise. At one point Dylan laughs at his phone, muttering something about Alex being ridiculous again. 

Of course they bicker about a few things (mostly hockey), but they still have a good time fighting over the most mundane topics. 

/

Ryan doesn’t know how the heck Dylan even found out about this shop because it’s out on the edge of Ottawa, surrounded by basically nothing. There’s a sign above the door that’s a little faded, but it reads “The Evil Eye” in dark, cursive lettering. The shop itself is fairly small, rustic looking in a way that doesn’t look particularly inviting. The window in the front has a display that Ryan can see is showcasing some books and the door has a Christmas wreath on it. 

“Are you sure this is it? It seems kind of, I don’t know, deserted?” Ryan hesitates to even get out of the car, the name of the shop isn’t particularly inviting and neither is the general aura of it. It feels as though someone is watching them, which isn’t likely because they’re basically in the middle of nowhere. The fact that there are black crows in the tree next to the shop isn’t exactly welcoming either.

Dylan doesn’t even seem to notice anything unusual or creepy about the shop, he’s looking at Ryan with expectation written all over his face. Because despite the fact that this place gives Ryan the creeps, Dylan still wants him to come into the shop. Which obviously means Ryan’s going into the shop. 

“C’mon Ry, what’s the worst that can happen?” Dylan says over his shoulder with a smile. Ryan chances a glance at the black crows again and then looks back at Dylan. He has so much hope in his eyes, a bit of a bounce in his step. He’s not usually like this. Dylan is usually tired, dark circles prominent under his eyes. He’s generally more quiet. Right now he looks almost like a kid in a candy store, so happy that Ryan can barely see the dark circles. His smile is bright and happy in contrast with the darkness surrounding the shop. He hopes this works, whatever this is, because a happy Dylan is a breath of fresh air, and that smile makes his heart feel like it’s soaring. 

/

There’s a bell above the door that rings as they enter. The shop is just as Ryan had expected: dark, dusty, and every surface is covered with trinkets and books. There’s a thin layer of dust coating everything and a strong smell that’s remnant of their grandmother’s perfume. 

A lady walks out from behind a curtain, a small smile on her face. She’s older, seems welcoming enough. She has dark hair, smatterings of grey along her hairline that show off her age, but her eyes are kind. Ryan walks over to her while Dylan inspects a shelf full of crystal balls, ever distracted by the simplest of things, the shiniest of things. 

“Hello there,” she greets. “What can I do for ya, sweetheart?”

“Hi,” Ryan replies. “My brother,” he nods his head toward Dylan, who looks up from the shelf sheepishly. Dylan smiles at her and walks over to where they’re standing. “He heard that you might sell something called Magical Mistletoe? To help with the finding of one’s soulmate?”

The lady nods, turning towards a door to her left. The door is plain, with a single piece of mistletoe carved into the wood. She makes a motion for them to follow her, and Dylan shoves at Ryan a little before walking over to the door. She turns the door handle and it swings open to reveal a small closet of a room, a single spotlight shining towards the door. In the center of the room, hanging from the ceiling, is a piece of mistletoe with a little yellow ribbon wrapped around the top. The rest of the room is empty. 

Dylan looks at Ryan skeptically. Ryan shrugs his shoulders. 

The lady clears her throat and speaks for the first time since greeting them. “The mistletoe shines when those who are tied in their souls stand under it. In the chance that one, or both, of the people to stand under it have no name on their wrists, the name will appear if you kiss your soulmate under this mistletoe. It’s said to possess the powers of only the purest love, which is why it reveals if two people are soulmates. If your souls are tied, the mistletoe will know.” She raises her eyebrows expectantly at them. 

“No no-“ Ryan starts. 

“It’s not for the two of us.” Dylan finishes. “I’ve just,” Dylan sighs. “I just have to know who my soulmate is, ya know?” The lady nods, and Ryan has never wanted to hug Dylan so bad. Ever the hopeless romantic, Dylan is. 

The lady nods and steps aside, allowing Dylan and Ryan to step into the small closet. Dylan goes to reach up for the mistletoe at the same time that Ryan goes to step out of Dylan’s way, and they bump into each other. Ryan catches a glimpse of light out of the corner of his eye and he looks up to see the mistletoe shining bright against the dark of the closet. Ryan’s jaw drops and he hears a gasp that could’ve very well come from him or Dylan. 

Ryan looks at Dylan and he’s looking right back. They’re both frozen in place, unsure of what to do. Ryan glances at the lady, who has the biggest and brightest smile on her face and she gives him a small nod. 

Dylan nudges his foot against Ryan’s, and they look at each other again. Ryan notices that at some point they moved closer together, and now he’s close enough to see how dilated Dylan’s pupils are. 

“Dyl-“

“Ry-“

“Well, would you look at that,” she says, interrupting their back and forth. “You boys were so busy looking for your soulmates, that you didn’t even think to look right in front of you.”

Dylan blushes all the way down his neck and scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. It ruffles his curls out of place. God, Ryan loves those curls. 

“So, uh,” Dylan starts. “Not what you were expecting, eh?” Ryan chuckles. 

“Understatement of the year, Dyls.”

Dylan knocks his hand against Ryan’s. “So, you think it’s really true? I mean, brothers as soulmates? That’s gotta be like, taboo or something, right?” Dylan sounds unsure and it makes Ryan panic. 

Ryan grabs Dylan’s hand, intertwining their fingers. “I really just can’t believe we didn’t discover this sooner, Dyl. If you think about it, we’re always together. And we have pretty impeccable chemistry in all aspects of our lives, including hockey. I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s always been you, and it took me seeing some glowing mistletoe to realize that.” He looks and Dylan and squeezes his hand, willing him to reply. 

“This is crazy,” Dylan replies. Ryan’s heart drops. “Hey, no, wait, look at me. What I meant to say is that this is crazy awesome. You’re one of my best friends and I’ve always felt comfortable in a way that I don’t around most people, you’ve gotta know that. I guess I’m a little worried, but honestly I’m more happy than anything. We’ve spent our whole lives together, so I suppose it makes sense that our sounds are bonded.”

Ryan’s heart soars when he hears those words, taking them as the agreement he was looking for. He squeezes Dylan’s hand again before leaning forward to close the space between the two of them. The moment their lips brush is devastatingly good, the relief and happiness and love seeping back and forth between the two of them. 

Ryan threads his hand through Dylan’s hairs, thoroughly fucking up his curls. He licks Dylan’s lip, making him sigh contently into Ryan’s mouth. It makes Ryan smile and he has to pull back for a minute, so he can look and see Dylan’s dorky smile too. He sees Dylan look down between them and follows Dylan’s gaze to where it’s looking at their wrists. There on Ryan’s wrist, in terrible cursive writing that couldn’t ever belong to anyone else, is Dylan’s name, written in Dylan’s cursive. Ryan grabs Dylan’s wrist and sees his own name written there, making it official. 

“Guess you’re stuck with me, eh Ry?” Dylan says with a shove to Ryan’s shoulder. He shoves Dylan back and they both laugh. 

“Oh please, like you hadn’t already attached yourself to my hip years ago. I always knew you liked me more than Matty,” Ryan brags. 

Dylan shrugs in response. “What can I say? The heart wants what it wants, baby.” He waggles his eyebrows making Ryan laugh again. 

Now that he thinks about it, Ryan doesn’t know how he didn’t know Dylan was his soulmate. There must’ve been so many signs. But the important thing is that they figured it out thanks to some glowing plant and Dylan’s resiliency.

It’s always been Dylan, it just took Ryan a while to realize it. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!
> 
> come find me on twitter or tumblr under the same name :)


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